New Dexterous Robot Hand; A 4-H Company

Kinea Design LLC, has developed new biomechatronic technology that will give arm amputees a dexterous hand with 13 different axes of motion that include a sense of touch. Novel tactile (haptic) fingertip sensor enable amputees to explore and interact with the environment using sense of touch. The fingertips provide temperature, texture, pressure, and friction sensory information to the user.

This design uses a Modular Finger System with three articulated joints driven by a single motor and a Palm Module which give the artificial fingers the ability to curl in a natural motion and conform around an object. The Palm Module serves as the principal electromechanical interface for the fingers and wrist and as the enclosure for the hand’s electronic components designed by Kinea Design and other RP 2009 collaborators.

Kinea Design is part of the multinational Revolutionizing Prosthetics 2009 (RP 2009) team sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and led by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL). The team is developing a sophisticated electromechanical prosthesis that will mimic the sensory-motor capabilities of a natural hand and arm. The hand & arm prosthesis features over 80 sensors. It will provide amputees with greater function and thought-controlled movement driven by implanted electrodes or by electromyography (EMG) electrodes.

“In the early 1900’s, the progressive educators and USDA Demonstration Agents who began 4-H recognized the power of hands-on, minds-on, exploration of real world grownup activities as a way of youth learning and applying new ideas. Since then, we have learned more about how young people like to explore and discover, and how they like to be treated. Today the way 4-H teaches is called life-skills base experiential youth development education. The focus is equally on the youth and the educational content. “

Learn By Doing

The TC Tinkers 4-H Robot Club is embarking on a challenging group project. They are working on forming a “Learn & Earn for Fun and Profit” 4-H company to sell things that other 4-H clubs have made and 4-H Logo items at the Northwestern Michigan Fair. Robots are also being considered as part of the product line to sell. If it goes well this could turn into year round employment for the club Members. Making affordable hands for robots is one possible product.

Perhaps an animatronic carnival barker would draw attention to the 4-H building at the fair and be a good demonstration of robotics / animatronics at the same time. If you and your company would like to help the kids learn how to build this sort of thing by actually building one, let me know. The fair is the first part of August 2010. If you have any suggestions, advice, or if you want to get involved, contact me as soon as possible.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY?This is your chance to let me and the other readers know what is on your mind. You can use the comments section at the end of the column to let us know what you think. I will be watching for your comments and suggestions.

Annual Salary Survey

Before the calendar turned, 2016 already had the makings of a pivotal year for manufacturing, and for the world.

There were the big events for the year, including the United States as Partner Country at Hannover Messe in April and the 2016 International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago in September. There's also the matter of the U.S. presidential elections in November, which promise to shape policy in manufacturing for years to come.

But the year started with global economic turmoil, as a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing triggered a worldwide stock hiccup that sent values plummeting. The continued plunge in world oil prices has resulted in a slowdown in exploration and, by extension, the manufacture of exploration equipment.